Big Data: A Mysterious Giant IT Buzzword

Post written by Niaz T., Senior Solution Architect/SAP BW Consultant at Ideaca. Read more about SAP HANA on her blog: Discover In-memory Technology.

In the world of technology there are a hundred definitions for “Big Data.” It seems confusing to come up with a single definition when there is a lack of standard definition. Like many other terms in technology, Big Data has evolved and matured and so has its definition. Depending on who we ask and what industry/business field they’re in, we will get different definitions. Timo Elliott summarized some of the more popular definitions of Big Data in “7 Definitions of Big Data You Should Know About.”

You may be familiar with three “V’s” or the classic 3V model. However, this original definition does not fully describe the benefits of Big Data. Recently, it has been suggested to add 2 more V’s to the list such as Value and Verification or Veracity which are resulted from “Data Management Practices.” As a BI expert who is been involved in Big Data, my approach is to have a practical definition for my clients by emphasizing the main characteristics of data and purpose of Big Data related to each specific area. I like Gartner’s concise definition. Gartner defined Volume, Velocity and Variety characteristics of information assets as not 3 parts but one part of Big Data definition.

Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information asset that demands cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making. (Gartner’s definition of big data)

The second part of the definition addresses the challenges we face to take the best of infrastructure and technology capabilities. Usually these types of solutions are expensive and clients expect to have cost effective and appropriate solution to answer their requirement. In my opinion this covers the other V which is related to how we implement Data Management Practices in Big Data Architecture Framework and its Lifecycle Model.

The third part covers the most important part and ultimate goal which is Value. Business value is in the insight to their data and to react to this insight to make better decisions. To have a right vision, it’s important to understand, identify and formulate business problems and objectives knowing practical Big Data solutions are feasible but not easy. So when I define Big Data for my clients, I use Gartner’s definition and explain the journey we need to take together to achieve their goal.

In any Big Data project, I start with BDAF or Big Data Architecture Framework which consists of Data Models, Data Lifecycle, Infrastructure, Analytic tools, Application, Management Operation and Security. One of the key components is having high performance computing storage. Since Big Data technologies are evolving and there more options to be considered, I’m focusing on SAP HANA capabilities which enable us to design practical and more cost effective solutions. HANA could be one part of overall Big Data Architecture Framework but it’s the most essential part. The beauty behind SAP HANA is that it is not just a powerhouse Database but it is a development platform to provide real time platform for both analytics and the transactional systems. It enables us to move beyond traditional data warehousing and spending significant time on data extraction and loading. In addition we’re able to take advantage of hybrid processing to design more advance modeling. Another big advantage of HANA is the capability of integrate it with SAP and non-SAP tools.

So, why am I so excited about it? Looking around I see tons of opportunities and brilliant ideas which could get off the ground with some funding. So far, HANA has been more successful in large enterprises with big budgets and larger IT staff. However I’m also interested to encourage medium size enterprises to see the potential of HANA to provide a solution for their problems. The majority of businesses don’t spend their budget to develop a solution. They are eager to pay to solve a particular problem. Now, our challenge as SAP consultants is to help businesses see this potential and how HANA can address their challenges. The good news is SAP supports by providing test environment and development licenses for promising startups.

Got your attention? Well, just to give you a glimpse, take a look at some of the success stories. In addition there are many many other cases if we look around. For instance, these days many applications capture Geo-location data like trucking company, transportation, etc. it means capturing data every 10 seconds or so from every section, every piece of equipment, every location. This could add up to a Petabyte of data! This is an excellent way to bring insight into data and drive intelligence out of it and have it circulated back to scheduling and movement processes. Another example could be companies needing to mine information from social media regarding to their products and connecting this intelligence back to their back end processes to increase customer engagement and satisfaction.

So, do you have any Big Data Challenge? With some funding, we’re able to provide cost effective and practical solution for your challenge to add value to your business.

Setting expectations with clients (part 2)

Post written by Steve J, Project Manager at Ideaca

Setting Expectations with Clients Part 2 is a two part blog series on managing client expectations. See here to read part 1.

In my previous blog post, I told a story about a project I was involved in that required expectations to be managed and the project to be pivoted. In this blog post, I will discuss four key factors in managing expectations that I have learned throughout my career.

1. Communication is a key factor when working with clients. No two clients are the same, some will hire a team to complete a specific task, while others will want to be fully engaged. Learning how and when to communicate with these different groups is crucial to project success. Fully engaged clients may require daily or even hourly updates on project status while more removed clients may only want occasional updates. Knowing your client and making decisions on when and how to communicate is an important way to manage expectations. Some of the effective communication mechanisms that we use on projects can include: daily stand-up meetings with the entire project team (including the client), weekly status reports with all items completed that week, any issues or decisions that arouse, and a budget burn down showing progress. Email is a very handy tool for communication, however if a portal (SharePoint or something similar) is available, this technology will allow for much tighter control over issues, questions, and decisions on the project, without the issues with email branching off into numerous threads and side conversations.

2. Building a relationship on honesty is necessary. Right from the first meeting, the client should understand what you can and cannot do for them. As much as we wish we could offer solutions to every problem, the reality is we can only do what is within scope and within our knowledge and skills. While digging into the details of what that desired end state will be, it is important to discuss what is possible and what is not. These discussions will affect the project and the decisions made will impact the deliverables, the timelines and especially the budget. The hope of this is to catch and identify any areas of the project that may lead to deliverables not being delivered, budgets and time frames expanding and missing expectations.

3. Deciding the roles and responsibilities for the project team (including the client team members as well) is a major task that should be completed at the start of the project. From the start of the project, setting up a project Governance is a great way to start. Project Governance will outline the relationships between all groups involved in the project, define the flow of information from the project to all key stakeholders, and ensure that there is appropriate reviews of all issues during the project. Another useful tool is to create a RACI Matrix. A RACI matrix describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or business process. It is especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes. Key contacts for the different areas of the project should be also defined. It’s important for everyone to know who to go to for questions and issues with certain aspects of the project and to keep these people consistent from kick off to go live. In projects I have been on, we start the project with an internal kick off meeting before we meet with the client. This ensures everyone is on the same page and has a shared understanding of the project and statement of work. On the first day of work with the client, we begin with a similar meeting. At this point we can assign the key contacts on my project team as well as the clients’ team. Everyone involved on both sides will have had chance to meet and put a name to the face and to their role.

 4. “When is the due date and when can we launch this project?” should be questions that are asked and answered early on. Making sure to develop a realistic project plan adds transparency to the project, shows when the milestones are due and provides everyone responsibilities and accountabilities. The project plan is a living document. It should exist to provide everyone an up to date snapshot of where things are in the project. If there are delays or changes made, the project plan should be updated and discussed with the client immediately. When it comes to managing expectations, establishing clear and consistent deadlines are a necessity. The sooner deadlines are set, the sooner the team can begin to work to ensure they meet them.

Every new project allows for lessons learned or growth, both for the team and the individual. Personally, I have learned so much about managing expectations from every project I have ever worked on. Every client is different and understanding how to work with them is part of having a successful project. Communications, honesty, assigning tasks and confirming deadlines are four key aspects of managing expectations that are part of my expectation management strategy for every project. Ultimately you want to start the project the same way that you finish it: with happy clients!

Is your website mobile friendly? Here's why it should be.

Many people believe that it is sufficient to only offer desktop computer versions of a website because that’s where people primarily use the internet. However, recent studies by Pew Internet have discovered that this is not the case. Increasing numbers of people primarily use their mobile devices to research or surf the internet. In some cases, these people do not have access to a desktop computer, have to share it, or prefer the convenience of their mobile devices. These mobile-only customers are as valuable as desktop computer users and need access to the same information.

How many people fit into this mobile-only category? A lot, especially young adults between 12 and 29 and low income adults. If your customers fit into either of these categories then it is especially important to make sure your website information comfortably fits onto a mobile screen. Even if your customers do not fit into these categories, more than half of all Americans used their mobile devices to browse the internet in 2012. This means that even if it isn’t your customer’s primary internet method, they may still be accessing your website and information on their mobile devices.

It is important not to force mobile only users to find a desktop computer to access your information. As well, forcing customers to zoom and scroll to navigate a site designed for a much larger screen will only frustrate them and detract from your valuable information and services. The good news is that mobile-only users may access the internet differently but they do not need unique information. The same messaging, content, services and offerings that you share on your website can be duplicated on your mobile site. Even the colors and branding used can and should remain consistent. This means that including a mobile site requires only technical changes and not major messaging or branding shifts.

Embracing customers regardless of the way they browse the internet is the best way to make sure your content is available and accessible. This ensures no potential customers are excluded, no matter the way they choose to browse the internet.

Sources: Pew Internet, Harvard Business Review Blog